Despite being boxing's most notorious knockout artist, Gennady Golovkin is unfailingly humble and polite during interviews and with the media. As he prepares for a title defense vs. Martin Murray on Saturday, in which he is heavily favored to win, boxing fans are patiently waiting for him to land the big fight he craves.
In a recent chat with Newsday, the Kazakh slugger once again called for Miguel Cotto, the WBC middleweight champion, to prove he's No. 1 at 160 pounds.
"I respect him, but he has the WBC belt and I have the WBC interim. For me, it is very important who is No. 1. I hope to fight Miguel because he is the WBC champion," Golovkin said. It's not the first time he has asked for a Cotto fight. After 18 straight knockout victories, both Golovkin and his surging fan base are ready for him to be tested vs. the elite.
To make the situation even more maddening, Cotto is actively searching for an opponent after talks with Canelo Alvarez broke down. Golovkin is one of boxing's most active fighters, and likely could be ready for a June title fight. As icing on the cake, he's already the WBC mandatory challenger.
Golovkin wants to clean out the middleweight division, but he said his dream fight is one vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"It is my dream fight because he is No. 1 pound-for-pound. It's a different style, a little bit different power, maybe the defense. For business, for everybody, for TV, for fans, that's the biggest fight."
Boxing fans won't hold their breath waiting for that fight either.
Instead, Golovkin must focus on his upcoming fight vs. Martin Murray, a solid competitor who nearly upset then-WBC champ Sergio Martinez in his home country of Argentina. He is warning those handing a victory to Golovkin already that he has "10 game plans rolled into one" and is prepared to withstand Triple G's power.
"There are things that we have been working on that we are confident of will work in the fight on Saturday," Murray told ESPN UK. "There are about ten game plans we have, all rolled into one. They are for all the different scenarios as to what might happen.
"All I know is that I'm ready to go 12 tough rounds with Golovkin. It's about finishing the fight with no regrets, knowing I've trained harder over 12 weeks than I ever have and felt fitter than I ever have. I've never trained at altitude before and I've never worked harder in training. This is definitely the fittest I've felt going into a fight."
If he's right, that will be a shock. Then again, if Murray lasts all 12 rounds, that might encourage some of boxing's top dogs to test themselves vs. Golovkin.
[Newsday]
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